Hospital upgrades prioritized in Capitol’s 2017 budget

The two provincial hospitals being eyed for upgrade to 150-bed hospitals are the Cebu Provincial Hospitals in the cities of Danao and Carcar, both of which inaugurated their respective level 1 operating rooms, as shown in these photos taken in September 2014 (CDN FILE PHOTOS).

Cebu’s countryside residents will no longer have to travel to Cebu City for their hospitalization needs if plans to upgrade the hospitals in the cities of Danao and Carcar push through next year.

Almost 25 percent of the total proposed budget for 2017 by the Cebu provincial government is intended for health services, which includes the upgrading two of the four provincial hospitals.

Hospital operations, including upgrading hospital facilities in the province, amounted to P881.9 million out of the P3.622-billion proposed budget for next year that was submitted by Gov. Hilario Davide III to the Cebu Provincial Board for deliberation, according to Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas.

Davide is making hospital upgrade a priority during his second term in office, Rodas said.

“When we had our budget meeting with the governor, although it is still a proposal, we (decided) to give a bigger budget for hospital operations, which also includes upgrading two hospital buildings,” Rodas said in Cebuano.

The allocation for hospital upgrades, including the purchase of a CT-Scan, MRI, X-ray and other diagnostic equipment, totaled P131.5 million, Rodas said.

The amount for hospital upgrades formed part of the P235 million, the total amount by which the executive department wants to increase its budget for hospital services.

This year, the province has allotted 646.1 million for hospital services. With the additional P235.8 million, the proposed allocation for hospital will now stand at P881.9 million.

Provincial Health Office (PHO) head Dr. Rene Catan yesterday said that upgrading the two provincial hospital will help decongest Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), a tertiary regional hospital operated by the Department of Health (DOH) located in Cebu City.

He said they decided on upgrading the provincial hospitals in Danao and Carcar as these are strategically located and are accessible to residents of northern and southern Cebu. Danao is 48.8 kilometers north of Cebu City while Carcar is 42.1 km south of Cebu City.

The two provincial hospitals being eyed for upgrade to 150-bed hospitals are the Cebu Provincial Hospitals in the cities of Danao and Carcar, both of which inaugurated their respective level 1 operating rooms, as shown in these photos taken in September 2014( CDN FILE PHOTOS).

He said that this plan of upgrading provincial hospitals is also a way of the provincial government to compete with the private hospitals in the area.

Both the Danao and Carcar provincial hospitals are level one or 50-bed hospitals. Catan said the upgrades would make the two hospitals level two or 150-bed medical facilities.

“While we are aware of the need to improve also our provincial hospitals in the northern and western parts of Cebu, we can only afford such upgrading on a phase-to-phase basis due to our limited resources,” Davide said in his budget message.

But he assured that the other provincial hospitals would receive funds for “additional basic hospital equipment and personnel for the improvement of the delivery of hospital services and their upkeep.”

Davide said his administration will also continue to tap the help of the national government and other financial sources to fund the improvement of other provincial hospitals.

Over all, Capitol’s 2017 proposed budget is P175.8 million (5.1 percent) more than this year’s P3.4 billion budget.

Aside from health services, the province’s 2017 budget also provided for allocations for countryside development, social welfare services, education and technical-vocational programs, law and order, infrastructure development and tourism investment promotion.

Davide said the provincial government also intends to keep the 35 percent cap of its personal services next year, which is 10 percent lower that the 45 percent cap allowed by law.

While he focused on the improvement of health services, Davide said he will also continue to work on ensuring the safety of the Cebuanos, infrastructure development and tourism investment promotions.

The provincial government is allocating P166 million as disaster funds; P125 million for the construction, rehabilitation and repair of provincial roads and bridges; P10 million as assistance to towns an cities for the establishment of their respective tourism reception and information centers; P11.5 million for the training and conduct of workshops on stakeholders awareness on tourism potentials and for the release of awards to local government units who are able to promote investments in their areas.

Capitol also intends to continue the implementation of its farmer-scientist research development and extension training program with a P40 million allocation next year; and the construction of level III waterworks system, with an allocation of P11.3 million.
The anti-drug campaign was allotted P13 million, to be handled by the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO); P10 million for the construction of additional prison cells for the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC); and P8.7 million for the purchase of air quality equipment, speedboats and water crafts.